Alberto Contador’s new limited edition Specialized S-Works Tarmac AC’15 was presented to the multiple Grand Tour winner before stage two of Tirreno-Adriatico.
First reported on by Cyclingnews, the 2015 Tarmac AC'15 frameset is predominately black and white, but incorporates imaginative grand-tour inspired flairs of colour in recognition of the Spaniard being one of only six riders to have won the triple crown.
Compared to previous bikes, the 2015 frameset features a minimal and understated paintscheme. Yellow for the Tour de France, pink for the Giro d’Italia and red for the Vuelta a Espana are all present in world-champion style bands around the base of the seatstays, circling the seatpost and down the fork legs.
An olive-wreath style graphic surrounding the Specialized S sits behind the stem, with leaf-like shapes in all three colours on the side of the head tube junction
As if not to diminish the importance of the greatest prize in the sport of cycling, the S-Works logos on the sides of the down tube are unashamedly bright yellow. The white on the frame is to represent Madrid, Contador's home city. A Spanish flag accompanies Contador’s name badge on the top tube near the seatpost.
For 2015, the Tinkoff-Saxo team ousted SRAM in favour of FSA, which is rumoured to be supplying the team with a new electronic groupset. Shimano shifters and derailleurs are apparently in place in the interim. Specialized’s own Roval wheels replace those from Zipp.
Contador’s new bike features an FSA K-Force Light crankset – 53/39T chainrings, naturally – equipped with an SRM power meter. There’s no Di2 here, Contador is running mechanical Dura-Ace 9000. The Spaniard is also using Roval Rapide CLX 40 tubular wheels with CeramicSpeed bearings (also on the headset) to ensure ultra-smooth rolling. The wheels are wrapped in S-Works Turbo Tubular Allround tyres.
A yellow-detailed FSA OS-98 alloy stem secures the FSA bars while the K-Force carbon seatpost is topped with Prologo’s 149g Zero C3 saddle.
The Tour winner’s bike is pictured with a magnetic speed sensor mounted on the fork, used for data gathering along with his SRM.
After receiving his new bike, Contador said: "Today I received my new Tarmac and I really like it. We talked for some time about a bike representing the Triple Crown colours, from the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a Espana. Now it is a reality. It will be an inspiration and a motivation for me throughout the 2015 season. Thank you very much, Specialized, for this gift."
Contador has won the Vuelta a Espana twice while riding a Specialized and is hoping to add the Giro and Tour to that list in 2015, as he aims to become the first rider since Marco Pantani in 1998 to win the Giro-Tour double. Find our more about Contador on Cyclingnews.
Full bike spec
- Frame and fork: Specialized S-Works Tarmac AC’15 (54cm)
- Headset: CeramicSpeed
- Stem: FSA OS-98
- Front brake: Shimano Dura-Ace
- Rear brake: Shimano Dura-Ace
- Levers: Shimano Dura-Ace
- Front derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace
- Rear derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace
- Cassette: Shimano Dura-Ace 11-28
- Crankset: FSA K-Force Light with SRM power meter
- Bottom bracket: Ceramic Speed
- Pedals: Look Keo 2 Max Blade
- Wheelset: Roval Rapide CLX 40 Tubular (CeramicSpeed bearings)
- Tyres: S-Works Turbo Tubular Allround
- Saddle: Prologo Zero C3
- Seatpost: FSA K-Force Light
- Bottle cages: Tacx Deva Carbon